networking/sharing confusion...

Hi all. I am now the proud owner of a powerbook AND an iMac G5 (what can I say? I was so impressed with the PB I had to buy a desktop too!)...so I'm trying to figure out how to make the 2 machines communicate easily. I used a firewire connection to migrate the powerbook into the iMac (worked pretty well), and now I want to access everything within the 2 computers easily. What's the best way? I checked all the boxes under preferences for sharing (which kinda bugs me, since my network COULD be being used by the guy with the computer next door, right?), and I'm trying to hook up the wireless connection as well but I'm having a little trouble with the password (my password is correct, but it keeps giving me an error message). Is there any way that I can be using one computer and have the other just appear on the desktop as a device or something (like I do with my external HD?)? Or is it always a firewire thing? Also, I noticed that when I am plugged into the external with both computers...if I am transfering some file into the external with ONE computer, the other computer can't open up the external drives (I get a spinning beachball forever when I try to click on the external HD icon). Is this normal?

Also, my wife and I have 2 seperate accounts on both computers because we speak different languages, but we want to share all the iPhoto and iTunes stuff. Seems like it's difficult to accomplish this (her iTunes shows up on my side, but I can only listen to it, not edit or delete it...and only if iTunes is open on both sides). I'm trying to understand how to put everything we have into shared folders so we can both access everything. I tryed to do just that, but it didn't seem to work (I think I must have missed something). While we're on the subject, is there ANY way to set up both accounts so we DON'T have to enter a password to switch? Basically, we ONLY have two accounts so that one side shows only Japanese in all the menus and the other side shows only English...we want to share everything and have no need for security or passwords.

Hi all. I am now the proud owner of a powerbook AND an iMac G5 (what can I say? I was so impressed with the PB I had to buy a desktop too!)...so I'm trying to figure out how to make the 2 machines communicate easily. I used a firewire connection to migrate the powerbook into the iMac (worked pretty well), and now I want to access everything within the 2 computers easily. What's the best way? I checked all the boxes under preferences for sharing (which kinda bugs me, since my network COULD be being used by the guy with the computer next door, right?), and I'm trying to hook up the wireless connection as well but I'm having a little trouble with the password (my password is correct, but it keeps giving me an error message). Is there any way that I can be using one computer and have the other just appear on the desktop as a device or something (like I do with my external HD?)? Or is it always a firewire thing? Also, I noticed that when I am plugged into the external with both computers...if I am transfering some file into the external with ONE computer, the other computer can't open up the external drives (I get a spinning beachball forever when I try to click on the external HD icon). Is this normal?

Also, my wife and I have 2 seperate accounts on both computers because we speak different languages, but we want to share all the iPhoto and iTunes stuff. Seems like it's difficult to accomplish this (her iTunes shows up on my side, but I can only listen to it, not edit or delete it...and only if iTunes is open on both sides). I'm trying to understand how to put everything we have into shared folders so we can both access everything. I tryed to do just that, but it didn't seem to work (I think I must have missed something). While we're on the subject, is there ANY way to set up both accounts so we DON'T have to enter a password to switch? Basically, we ONLY have two accounts so that one side shows only Japanese in all the menus and the other side shows only English...we want to share everything and have no need for security or passwords.

Any and all help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

You should have both computers connected to your wired or wireless router.
Launch System Preferences.
Enable Sharing on one or both.
From one, Go > Connect to Server... or [Apple]-[K].
Log into the other computer. You will see a new icon displayed on the Desktop.

I tried to find "go", but couldn't find that in the menu. Also, a window popped up that read something like "new port discovered" etc...and then looked like some kind of a new internet setup (I checked all the boxes for sharing on both computers...maybe part of the problem?).

Didn't notice any new icon though. Where do I find "go"?

Also, while I'm asking dumb questions...once I get this all set up is it possible to leave the powerbook "on" but closed? So that I can access it without leaving it open...

Once both of your computers are connected to the network, either wireless or wired, go to system preferences>sharing, and check personal file sharing on both machines. This is the only one needed to network two Mac's on the same network. Leaving all other's checked can prove potentially dangerous, especially if not needed. To make it easier go to your Finder preferences menu , and in the sidebar section check the "network" selection. Do this on both computers. After doing this, your Imac and Powerbook, should seek out one another.

Go to the network icon in your Finder sidebar, and you should see the other computer's share name pop up. It may take a few minutes however; so don't be alarmed if it doesn't happen immediately. Once the other computer present's itself, click on it and choose connect. You'll have to enter the Username and administrator password to gain full access, otherwise you'll only have access to the other's public folder. When you enter the password, there is an option to "save password in keychain". Check this and, you should be able to log in from then on w/o entering a password. Hope this helps.

After selecting Network in the left pane in a Finder window, be sure you've selected the Columns view (Cmd-3). In the first column to the right you'll see a folder named My Network. Click on that and you'll see all the Macs/Windows computers on your local network that have Personal File Sharing enabled. Click on the computer you want to access, and the next column to the right will display a globe with a connect button. Click on the Connect button and select the volume on the remote computer you want to access. If you see the Options button in the lower left, click on it to add the password to your keychain so you don't have to enter it each time. Click the OK button to back up, click the OK button to authenticate, and the remote volume will mount on your Desktop on the right side of the screen.

If you want this volume to automatically mount every time you restart your Mac, open System Preferences (under Apple menu or the icon with the light switch in the Dock) and click on the Accounts Preference Pane. The third tab is named Login Items. Click on this and you'll see a list of everything that automatically starts up when you login. To add an item, click on the + at the bottom of the pane. This will open up a browser slip that permits you to search throughout your Mac environment. On the left you'll see the name of the volume you just mounted on your Desktop. Click on it once to highlight it and on the Add button in the lower right of the pane. The slip will slide up into the window and you'll see your volume appearing in the list of Login Items. The next time you login (or restart you Mac if you've set it to automatically login for you), your Mac will search for the remote volume, and automatically authenticate and mount the volume on your Desktop.

This works for everything. So, if you want to startup Mail or your web browser automatically each time you startup your Mac, just click on the + button in the Accounts/Login Items pane and navigate to the appropriate application to add it.

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